Thunderbird’s Top 10 Boss Battles

Hey everyone, Thunderbird here to bring you another top 10 list! Now when people talk about the most memorable moments in video games, most of the time they are talking about boss fights. These challenging, difficult, epic, and sometimes even cryptic battles are the epitome of games, and usually provide for the best moments and memories. But which ones are the best? As usual, I’m here to count them down and to give you my opinion. Keep in mind, I’m going by a mixture of both fun and lasting memories. So the end boss for every game might not be on the list, it depends on the music, how you beat the boss, how hard it is, and just how much fun it is to play the boss. So with that, let’s dive into Thunderbird’s Top 10 Boss Fights, but first, an honorable mention.

Honorable Mention: Tetris

Now before I start getting angry comments, let me say that I acknowledge that Tetris, just the game of Tetris itself, cannot qualify for being a boss fight. That’s the only reason it’s not on this list. But if you look past that, you see that if Tetris qualified as a boss fight, it would probably end up at number 1 on this list, or at least pretty close to that. It fits every other parameter. The music is great, it’s a fun “boss” to play, and it’s definitely unconventional.

Another drawing factor for Tetris is that you actually cannot beat it, at least to my knowledge. Maybe on some versions of the game there are alternate modes that you actually can beat, but the beauty of Tetris is that it goes on forever, or at least until the player can’t keep up anymore. It’s that kind of simple elegance that not only makes Tetris a great game, but also ensures at least a mention on my list. I really wish that I could put Tetris on this list, because it’s such a different entry than you normally see on lists like this, but it actually has a very strong case for it being here. Oh Tetris, if only you were somehow a boss, I would love to put you on my list. But alas, Tetris isn’t a boss, it’s only a game that fits every description of a boss, except of course, being a real boss. Sorry Tetris, you’ll have to settle for my honorable mention, but you’re still awesome.

10. GLaDOS – Portal

Let me start off by saying this. Portal is a very strange game. Whether it’s your character’s barely explained robot legs, the mind-bending puzzles, or the surprising amount of compassion people show towards the Companion Cube, Valve’s physics-defying puzzle game is just weird all the way through. But by far the strangest part of the game is GLaDOS, the only known entity besides the protagonist Chell in the game. GLaDOS “guides” you through the games puzzles, and her dialog changes from somewhat helpful to downright sinister as the game progresses.

One of the best things about the final confrontation with GLaDOS is that the player doesn’t expect it. Sure, some of you might have suspected it, but it’s not really foreshadowed, it kind of just happens. The last puzzle of Portal, where you have to escape through the test center’s inner workings, is an amazing change of pace from the rest of the game. All of Portal up to that point is pristine, clean, and neat, and causes a pretty sinister atmosphere because of how “perfect” it all seems. It’s too good to be true, and the escape through the factory proves that assumption. Scribbles on the walls left behind by past test subject indicate that “The cake is a lie!” and other helpful hints, and the creepy robot voice of GLaDOS telling, pleading, and threatening you to stop moving forward just enhances this atmosphere.

So you make it all the way through the test center and you finally encounter GLaDOS. The giant machine’s voice is actually slightly clearer now that you are face to, well, insane homicidal machine, then when you hear GLaDOS in the test center, which is a great little addition that just further immerses the gamer into the experience. And now we move onto the actual boss fight. This battle gets some bonus points for having some of the funniest moments in the whole game right at this scene. I won’t ruin anything, but when GLaDOS drops her morality core, if you don’t put it in the incinerator right away, GLaDOS spews out some of her greatest lines. There’s a few videos of it on Youtube, and I encourage you all to check it out if you haven’t seen them already. So anyway, you drop her morality core into the incinerator, and then the battle begins. GLaDOS is a remarkably different boss than anything I’ve experienced. It takes a bit of time to figure out how to even hurt the machine, but once you realize what to do (no spoilers here, I won’t say) it’s pretty easy and very fun. You get to see the concentrated forms of all of GLaDOS’ emotions, the most entertaining one probably being rage, the way it seizes around spewing angry voices. Anyway, GLaDOS is not only a very different boss fight, but a very fun and entertaining one, and a perfect way to start off this list.

9. Gigantic Blooper – Super Mario Sunshine

Now to be fair, I haven’t played much of Super Mario Sunshine, so don’t get mad if there’s an awesome boss fight late in the game, because I haven’t gotten to it. But I have played enough of it to know that there’s one amazing boss fight very early in the game. To be fair, this is more of a mini-boss, and is very easy, but just based on how much fun it is, and how strangely sadistic it is, the Gigantic Blooper fight just had to be on my list. You all remember this, you’re running around, doing Mario things, when all of a sudden, a giant blooper falls from the sky and then you’re in a boss battle. I just love how unexplained this one is, it’s just like “Hey! There’s a giant squid! Go!”. It’s completely out of nowhere, and it’s completely hilarious! But anyway, the only real reason this fight is on my list is how you fight the blooper. People have been long making observations on how strange and sadistic Mario games are when you really delve into them, but this is the epitome of that. There is no way around this fight, Mario jumps on a squid’s tentacles and rips them off, despite the pleading tears by the creature to stop. How sick do you have to be to do that? Mario is literally dismembering living creatures here! Forget Dead Space, this fight is the first use of graphic dismemberment in a game that I’m aware of. And it only gets worse. After Mario has ripped every single limb from this blooper with his bare hands, leaving the creature completely incapacitated, Mario could have just walked away. But no, that’s not nearly enough satisfaction for this sick person. Mario then grabs the blooper’s nose, pulls it back what looks like 15 feet, and then let’s go, causing the blooper to be violently slapped in the face with his own nose. Now that’s cruel. And yet, the player is having a blast while observing these sick acts.

Now I did mention that this boss is very easy, and I wasn’t exaggerating. This is one of the easiest bosses I can think of, it’s actually no challenge whatsoever, the music isn’t outstanding, I can’t even remember what the music was! But it all comes down to the gameplay, and the Gigantic Blooper fight is so much fun that it had to be on my list.

8. Free Bird – Guitar Hero 2

Here’s where some people might start disagreeing with me. Or maybe they started with the Gigantic Blooper, I don’t know. Free Bird, the final song in Guitar Hero 2, and the possessor of one of the most famous, and infamous guitar solos of all time, is an awesome boss fight. Some people might not call it a boss, but I say it is, just look at the facts. It’s the last song played in the game, it’s harder than any other song in the game, it has it’s own music (well, so does everything in Guitar Hero, but I’m making a point), and there’s a big buildup to actually playing the song. You know, the build up is actually one of the best parts about Free Bird as a boss, and in my opinion, one of the funniest moments in a game ever. I can’t really explain it, but I find it very amusing to see 3 consecutive warnings when you try to start the song. They’re almost urging you to go back, and it prepares you for what you’re about to go through. Even with all the quick reflexes and rapid button pressing required for some bosses on this list, or some people would want to see on this list, nothing will hurt your fingers more than Free Bird. Well, maybe that Dragonforce song, but that song is awful.

Yeah, I’m going to take a minute to explain why I put Free Bird here instead of Through the Fire and the Flames, or even Bark at the Moon, for those of you who were around for the first Guitar Hero. Well, I was never really good at the first Guitar Hero, and never got to Bark at the Moon on a difficulty where it would be challenging at all, so that kind of makes me unable to put it on the list. But the main reason is that Free Bird is a far better song than Bark at the Moon, or Through the Fire and the Flames for that matter. And it’s also a far more appropriate song. When you think of being a Guitar Hero, you don’t think of playing some Dragonforce song, or an Ozzy Osbourne song, even if it is pretty good. Maybe it’s just the classic rock fan in me, but Free Bird far eclipses both those songs in that matter. Also the notoriety of Free Bird (Even if you don’t know the song, you know what people mean when they say “Play Free Bird!”) makes it even more hilarious because you’re actually playing Free Bird. When I found out that this song was going to be in Guitar Hero 2, I was incredibly excited. The song definitely lived up to my expectations, and is easily one of the greatest boss fights of all time.

7. Devil Dragon / Living Walls – Mega Man 2

(sorry, that was the biggest picture I could find, and I couldn’t find a picture of the living walls)

Yeah, I have two bosses on this list, but I really can’t decide between the two. First let me talk about the Devil Dragon. A lot of people say that this boss isn’t as great as some people say it is because of how easy it is, and while it is a fairly easy boss, there’s still some challenge. The blind jumps you need to make when the dragon is chasing you constantly give me trouble, but once you get to where you actually fight the boss, it’s an easy one. It’s not as easy as the Gigantic Blooper from Super Mario Sunshine, however, so I can’t discredit it that much for its lack of difficulty. But the real reason that the Devil Dragon is on this list is just how iconic it is. Think about it, we all remember how much that Dragon freaked us out the first time we saw it pop up, and how most of us probably fell off the blocks just out of shock. But once you get over the tricky platforming and the surprise of the Dragon popping up, the boss is actually quite easy. Freakishly easy, really. So that’s why I made this entry a tie between these 2 bosses from Mega Man 2.

The other boss battle at this spot is the living walls boss from Mega Man 2. This boss is at the end of the third stage of Dr. Wily’s castle I believe, and I think I’ve only beaten it once or twice. I’m not great at Mega Man games, so maybe this boss is actually really easy, but to me it’s a pretty good challenge. But my favorite thing about this boss is just how weird it is. I mean, it’s a living room that is breaking apart, reforming, and then trying to kill you. If that’s not creativity, I don’t know what is. This boss fight also has a fair amount of shock, although not as much as the Devil Dragon. You jump down into that room, and start to wonder what exactly is going on, and then before you know it, the room is attacking you. Look, I know I’m repeating myself, but I seriously cannot get over just how creative this boss fight is, it’s genius! By combining this great idea with great execution, the living walls boss and the Devil Dragon from Mega Man 2 are two of the greatest boss fights ever, I just couldn’t choose between the two.

6. Abyss – Marvel vs. Capcom 2

(Why the hell can’t I find big pictures? Stupid hotel internet in Halifax…)

This is definitely one of the most interesting boss fights I’ve ever seen. Throughout all of Marvel vs. Capcom 2, you only see 3v3 team fighting, so when you get to Abyss, the final boss, and you see that he’s just one gigantic armored guy, you expect him to be really freakin’ hard. And he actually isn’t. Sure, he has some powerful attacks, but they’re all very slow, and he’s a very easy boss to beat. Now if this boss were as lackluster as I described him, why would he be on this list? Because after you beat this gigantic armored thing, the screen kind of melts away, revealing this strange green guy with a laser that’s insanely creepy. Yep, that’s right, this is a multi-part boss. And boy, is it a good one. Now I understand that I kind of trashed Abyss’ first form, but it’s actually pretty good. He’s incredibly foreboding, and on a first impression is much more sinister than the second form. Also, while his attacks are a little on the slow side, hot damn are they powerful! You do have to be very careful when fighting this boss, because if you mess up, your chances of beating Abyss in all of his forms is significantly lowered. But the first part of Abyss has nothing on its second form. Insanely creepy, this small green entity has quite possibly the creepiest voice in video game boss history. I can’t really describe it, but it’s horrifying. It shoots a laser at you, shoots bubbles, and if you don’t have a projectile character in your team, is very hard to beat. The only problem is that if you do have a projectile character such as Cable in your team, this part of the Abyss fight becomes very easy. Like, way too easy. But the third form, oh god the third form on Abyss. Not only is it challenging no matter who you have in your party, but it’s scary. Really freakin’ scary. Let’s see, how can I say this, you’re fighting ON THE BOSS. ABYSS IS THE STAGE! I don’t think I’ve ever seen this before in any game. It’s pretty awesome and frightening at the same time. For a lot of the fight, you have to just block in anticipation of a sudden attack by Abyss. Then you have to quickly react when the boss comes on screen and formulate an attack. But why isn’t Abyss any higher? Well, once you figure out how to beat this boss, it is really easy to beat. So even though it’s kind of easy, it’s definitely memorable, and easily one of the greatest boss fights ever.

5. Volvagia – The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

This is one of my personal favorites, and is actually such a good boss fight that it turns the otherwise unremarkable Fire Temple into one of my favorite parts of Ocarina of Time. Before the fight with the fire dragon Volvagia, the Fire Temple is pretty standard, and not that much fun at all. But then, once you get to this boss, it’s just so much fun that it really makes up for the rest of the temple. You walk into the room, see those puddles of lava, and then the triumphant reveal of Volvagia, whose actually a pretty silly looking boss. But still, running around with the Megaton hammer, waiting for the dragon’s head to pop up, and then BAM! You smack him with the hammer, it’s just so much fun! I don’t remember much about music for this boss fight, although the Bolero of Fire is a really cool song, but the main reason why this boss fight is on this list is just how much fun it is. I know I keep restating this over and over and over, but I really can’t explain just how much fun I had the first time I played this boss. Something about just appeals to me, I guess. Ocarina of Time has some great bosses, from Volvagia, to Phantom Ganon, to the thing that you fight in Jabu-Jabu’s belly, but considering that I haven’t gotten past the Water Temple yet, I have to say that Volvagia is the best boss so far in Ocarina of Time, and easily one of the greatest of all time.

4. Huff N. Puff – Paper Mario

Paper Mario has some of the greatest and most creative bosses in both RPG history and in gaming history in general. The hardest thing about this list was picking just one boss from Paper Mario. In fact, I could probably make a top 10 of just the greatest boss fights from Paper Mario. But in the end, I had to go with the first boss that came to mind, the battle against Huff N. Puff. The giant evil cloud is one of the most visually memorable bosses in Paper Mario, right up there with the giant Piranha Plant and the Invincible Tubba Blubba, and has a bit of innovation in the fighting mechanics. Instead of the exact same fighting style for every battle throughout the whole game, when you fight Huff N. Puff, you need a bit more strategy. You see, every time you hit him, little particles come off of him and become separate entities, and also new enemies. So you have to be careful at some parts. Also, one of my favorite things about Huff N. Puff is how goofy he is, but also how sinister he is. You take what is pretty much the happiest place in the entire world, Flower Fields, and he completely corrupts it, darkening the sky with his cloud machine, and basically ruining everything. That’s so silly and at the same time, so freakin’ creepy. Also just look at him! He’s a giant cloud! That just screams silly/sinister. If you really think about it, a gigantic cloud would be a really horrifying thing to encounter in real life, so this boss fight definitely has a sinister angle to it.

Now the other boss that I strongly considered for this spot was the Crystal King. Now the Crystal King is one of the hardest bosses I’ve ever gone up against. He is freakishly hard. Much harder at that point in the game than Bowser is at the end. Not only does the Crystal King deal out a lot of damage, he has a large amount of health, and heals himself. In short, a very, very hard boss to beat. But he couldn’t take down Huff N. Puff, just because the Crystal King fight isn’t memorable enough. When I was thinking of Paper Mario boss fights, the first one that came to mind was Huff N. Puff. There’s a reason he left that much of a lasting impression on me, and it’s because the battle against Huff N. Puff is one of the greatest boss fights ever.

3. Rival – Pokemon Red/Blue

While I could technically put the Rival from any Pokemon game at this point, I picked the one from Red/Blue because not only is Red/Blue the best game in the Pokemon series, but it had the most compelling rival. I never played Ruby/Sapphire all that much, but in both of the last two generations of Pokemon games, the “Rival” has been replaced with a friend of yours whom you just battle continuously. That’s nowhere near as entertaining and compelling as actually battling someone you hate. And the Gold/Silver Rival is so arbitrarily angry, and is such an underdeveloped character, that I really can’t get involved in it. But your rival from versions Red/Blue is a well-developed character, you hate him for a reason, he doesn’t feel too overly evil with no good reason, and he ends up as a very intriguing antagonist. But people at this point might be wondering which fight against your rival I’m putting on the list. Well, there really shouldn’t be any debate. Does anyone not remember how the felt when you finally defeated the Elite 4 and you thought you beat the game, and then your freakin’ rival comes in out of nowhere and demands that you two battle? That was intense! And not only is it a great battle, but it has some of the most intense battle music in gaming history. Seriously, it’s that awesome, You just need to listen to it, and you’ll understand.

But wrapping this all up, the final battle against your Rival in Pokemon Red/Blue really has it all. Challenge, great music, great timing and shock value, and it all adds up to one of the greatest boss fights ever.

2. Mike Tyson – Mike Tyson’s Punch Out!

OH DEAR SWEET BUTTERY JESUS! THIS IS THE DEFINITION OF HARD. I can’t even begin to explain how difficult this boss is. By far the hardest boss in gaming history, if you haven’t tried to take down Iron Mike, there’s just no just way to explain it’s difficulty. I just can’t. I used to think I understood how hard this boss was, but then one day I looked up the code to get to Mike Tyson, found a version of the game online, and I’ve been scarred ever since. I tried to beat him three times; here are my results:

Try 1: Landed 0 punches and got knocked out.

Try 2: Landed 1 punch and got knocked out.

Try 3: Landed 0 punches and got knocked out.

One might say I just suck at Punch Out, and that may be, but still; Mike Tyson is hard. And that right there is the reason why Mike Tyson is on this list. The music isn’t any different than the rest of the game, the fight mechanics aren’t any different, the game just ramps up the difficulty to a legendary status. Because that’s why we all remember this boss, because of how many bloody tears we’ve shed trying to take down the champ. And that’s why this boss fight is on the list.

1. Giygas – Earthbound

I have to explain something. I really like Earthbound. I’ve talked about it in one other list I made, but it is quite possibly my favorite game of all time. I consider it to be a perfect game, and gaming’s single greatest achievement in terms of both quality, fun, and artistry. But all fanyboyism aside, I really feel that the final battle against Giygas is such a good fight that it can actually be thought of as the greatest boss fight of all time. The fight against Giygas has some of the best music in Earthbound, as well as all time, has memorable moments, a very interesting shift in battle mechanics, some humor (you can’t grasp the true form of Giygas’ attack!), and of course, quite possibly the most visually horrifying sight in any video game ever. There are theories circling the internet that………. Actually, no spoilers, I won’t say anything.

But anyway, the fight against Giygas really has it all. It kind of sums up Earthbound in that it accomplishes so much without apparently setting out to accomplish that much. Part of why the fight against Giygas is so amazing is because Giygas is such a good villain. Through the whole game, you never really hear much about him, and then when you finally reach Giygas you find out that he is so evil that his evilness destroyed his own mind and that now he is evil incarnate? That’s pretty badass. And when you take something that badass and fight it, you’re going to get a badass fight. The bottom line is that the fight against Giygas is so memorable either through its humor, interesting way of winning, or just how it looks, that it couldn’t not be number 1. The battle against Giygas is quite simply the greatest boss fight of all time.